FC Barcelona: Thoughts On The RFEF, Marcelo And Jose Mourinho

As I’m sure you are well aware, the RFEF have decided to rescind the ban handed out to Jose Mourinho for his infamous altercation with new Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova. This was always going to be a controversial decision, with Toni Freixa the mouthpiece for the official response which obviously condemned the decision taken by the RFEF. On the other hand, from the Real Madrid perspective, Emilio Butragueno has "accepted the decision" and has urged Barcelona to follow suit. Even before the season has begun, tensions between the two clubs are rising to boiling point, but let’s humour Butragueno for a moment. What if we were to accept the decision taken by the RFEF? What exactly does that mean for the upcoming Supercopa El Clasico's?

First and foremost, it means that Jose Mourinho’s actions will go unpunished. While the "attack" wasn’t overly violent, it was far from acceptable conduct, especially from the manager of a club the stature of Real Madrid. Whether we like it or not, Jose Mourinho is a role-model to Real fans young and old, and in rescinding the punishment, the RFEF have inadvertently shown us that there are no repercussions for violence against a fellow coach. However, that’s not all.

Another player to benefit from this change of heart was Marcelo who is now available to play in the first leg on the 21^st of August following his red card in the dying moments of last year’s Supercopa clash. One could argue that Marcelo was the instigator for all of the actions that followed including Mourinho’s moment of madness, and in rescinding his ban, what message have the RFEF sent the rest of the world?

Well, it appears that the RFEF condone tackles like Marcelo’s on Cesc Fàbregas. According to the RFEF there is nothing illegal in tackling your opponent from behind. Not only that, but you can fly in with both feet off the floor and follow through in a scissors motion as well! After all, if the player isn’t writhing around with broken limbs the tackle can’t have been that bad?

Perhaps when Real kick off in the opening leg the Barcelona players should scythe down Cristiano Ronaldo or maybe even Marcelo himself whether they have the ball or not, after all, there are no consequences for such actions. Furthermore, what’s to stop Tito Vilanova from assaulting Jose Mourinho? I can’t help but wonder: would Butragueno feel the same if the roles were reversed? With the RFEF displaying that there are no ramifications for violence, maybe we will find out...